White House opposes Senate plan to link cyber, defense bills

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said it does not support an effort by U.S. Senate Republicans to pair cyber security legislation with a defense bill that President Barack Obama has indicated he opposes.

"They are more interested in playing politics than they are in actually making sure that we have all of the tools we need to protect the American people from cyber attacks," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said of congressional Republicans.